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Luke, the third book in the New Testament canon, was authored by Luke, a physician and companion of Paul on some of his journeys. Often known as the “Gospel of compassion,” the book depicts Jesus as displaying empathy toward the marginalized, impoverished, and outcast individuals. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is portrayed as the Redeemer of all humanity, not just the Jewish people, indicating that the writer is likely a Gentile. The Gospel of Luke stands out by offering numerous historical and chronological specifics. Additionally, Luke devotes significant attention to the women who accompanied Jesus, referencing them approximately 45 times. A substantial portion of Luke features content unique to this Gospel, including 14 parables that are not found in the other Gospels.
The author of the third Gospel does not explicitly mention his name. The intended recipient is identified as “most excellent Theophilus,” the same individual who received the book of Acts (Luke 1:1-4;Acts 1:1). Since Acts serves as a sequel to Luke, it is probable that the same individual penned both works. Christian tradition credits these writings to Luke, a physician and a close associate of Paul. In his letter to Timothy, Paul refers to Luke as someone who stood by him during challenging times «Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. », (2 Timothy 4:11). The use of the first-person plural “we” in Acts, for example, Acts 27:1, confirms that the author personally witnessed the events. It is likely that Luke was a Gentile, making him the sole non-Jewish writer in the Scriptures. His objective in composing the Gospel of Luke was both theological and apologetic, seeking to strengthen Theophilus’ faith «that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. », (Luke 1:4).
Luke’s awareness of other disciples’ accounts indicates that Mark and Matthew were likely already written when he compiled his account, alongside other reports and sermons that the Twelve probably left. This places the Gospel of Luke sometime after the writing of both Matthew and Mark. Since Acts concludes before Paul’s death in AD 68, Luke-Acts and the first two Gospels were likely written before then.
In alignment with his goal of reinforcing Theophilus’ faith, Luke diligently conducted his research. Although not an eyewitness to the life of Jesus, he had access to eyewitness testimony and various sources, including songs, letters, speeches, and trial transcripts. Leveraging his physician’s eye for detail, he crafted an extensive and orderly account.
The early church unanimously attributed the third Gospel to Luke, and all the ancient manuscripts we have of the Gospel bear his name. Early church fathers like Irenaeus, Ignatius, Clement, and Tertullian affirmed Luke’s authorship, considering his account of the life of Christ authoritative and inspired Scripture.
We have no reason to doubt the traditional attribution of the book to Luke, and Luke is properly acknowledged as the author of the Gospel bearing his name.
